Michael Ryan, president of Envirosystems, said Newfoundland and Labrador's growing economy makes this a good time to get a toehold in the provincial market.

"We're very excited about what's happening in Newfoundland, and we clearly have Canadian presence in our business, and we've been expanding our business, heading for national coverage. It's hard to have national coverage without the province of Newfoundland," said Ryan, adding that the deal is exciting for him personally, since he has roots in the province.

"From a point of view of delivery of their services, we have a larger bank of services that they have the potential to draw from, but we plan on supporting it and developing the business as efficiently and rapidly as possible," he said. "We've had a long-standing relationship with them, working together over the years, and we're very excited to bring it into our fold, and we think the employees share our optimism."

Steve Power, chief operating officer of Crosbie Industrial, said his company's pleased everything will remain the same under the new ownership.

"Our greatest asset - and I don't just say it as a cliché. It's true - is our people, because our people are so experienced. We don't lose any people here. We've got people here who've been here almost 30 years," said Power. "They know the industry very well, so the fact that we don't change anything usually means, in my experience, that those people will stay on. The other advantage is the access to more equipment, and more importantly, access to greater disposal technology. There's a lot of liquid waste that comes from the oil production platform. Most of it these days goes away, which means it's transported long distances in trucks, which leaves it open to environmental disasters. So we're looking at new technologies that we can process some of this waste right on the island, in St. John's. That will be a longer-term advantage, but certainly a big advantage."

The number of employees at Crosbie Industrial varies depending on how many projects are on the go, said Power. The company has a minimum of 60 employees but right now has about 100. The purchase price of the sale, which took effect July 1, was not disclosed.